


Please...

by DragaBloodvist



Series: Whumptober2020 [6]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Astrid!Whump, Blood, F/M, Permanent Injury, Torture, Whump, emotional Hiccup!whump, injuries, whumptober2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:54:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26863222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragaBloodvist/pseuds/DragaBloodvist
Summary: Ryker tortures Astrid to draw Hiccup out of his hiding spot.
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Series: Whumptober2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948180
Comments: 7
Kudos: 38
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Please...

**Author's Note:**

> Whelp! Okay, this is probably the most gruesome thing I've written so far.  
> And... okay, I feel bad for saying this... but I enjoyed it?

“Now, let me take a look at this leg.” 

Ryker kneeled down next to where Astrid was again bound and dangling off his ship’s mast. His meaty hands ran over her leggings and if her leg wouldn’t hurt like mad already, she’d tell him in no uncertain words to take his hands off her. But as it was, his touch barely registered in her mind. 

Since yesterday when Ryker had shoved her to the ground, her knee had swollen to at least twice its usual size. It was throbbing and felt hot even without her being able to touch it. 

"Mmh, that looks painful. How does this feel?" There was glee and sick excitement in Ryker's voice when he squeezed abs prodded at the tender flesh. It made her want to groan in pain but she bit her lip, hard, to keep any noises inside. She didn’t want to give him that satisfaction. 

To distract herself, Astrid gazed at the sky above them. In opposition to the insufferably hot day before, the sky was covered in heavy clouds today, the cool wind almost soothing on her skin. Hiccup had escaped. That was all that mattered now and she repeated that thought in her mind over and over. He'd escaped, hadn't fallen for Ryker's trap. He was safe. 

Sharp pain at her leg made her hiss. It was a new pain, a blade cutting into her skin, and when she looked down, she saw that Ryker had made short work of her leggings. Blood trickled down her leg where he'd cut the fabric and underlying flesh without much patience. 

What scared her more though was how her knee looked. Black and blue from what had to be one hell of a bruise and swollen, it didn't look good. It needed treatment and rest, for her to lie down. 

But Ryker wouldn't let any of that happen. With dark laughter, he again squeezed at the throbbing flesh, making her whimper in pain.

"Did you find a new toy, brother?" 

Ryker looked up at the new voice. Astrid couldn't see who was standing behind her, but Viggo's voice was distinct. It sent a new shiver of fear down her spine. 

"Viggo! When did you arrive?" 

He stood up, patting Astrid's shoulder which made her swing and put further strain on her shoulders and wrists, making a fresh drop of blood run down her arms.

"Oh, some hours ago," Viggo replied. "But it was the middle of the night so I went to get some sleep first." 

He walked around Astrid, regarding her with a dismissive look. "I hear you failed to capture the others, though." 

Ryker scowled. "But they failed to take her with them, too. Besides, it was only their leader anyway."

"But he and his dragon are the most important. The rest would have landed in our cells in no time." There was anger in Viggo's voice.

"They still will," Ryker insisted. "My men managed to wound him and he's still alone. We just have to lure him back here before any reinforcement arrives."

"He's still around?" Viggo covertly glanced at the surrounding sea stacks.

Ryker nodded. "Oh, he is. We've seen him watching us every now and then from up there. He wouldn't leave when we still have her."

Viggo's lips twitched into a smirk. "Very well. Then do what you have to to get him back here."

A dark grin spread over Ryker's face. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this!"

Astrid listened to the men's exchange with trepidation. Hiccup was still around? They would keep using her as bait to lure him in? She wanted to scream at that idea. She and Hiccup were supposed to make each other stronger and support each other. Not be each other’s weakness. 

But screaming was just what she couldn’t do, not under any circumstances. If Hiccup was still around then waiting for their friends to support him was the only sensible thing to do, especially with that arrow wound. But for that, he had to wait, to not come rushing in unprepared. Whatever Ryker would do to her, she couldn’t scream, couldn’t let on that she was in pain. 

And at first, she thought that would be manageable. 

She was in a state of constant pain, after all, from her wrists and shoulders, her throat and her head, and now from the cut on her leg and her injured knee as well. Whatever else Ryker planned on doing to her, she could take it. 

For a while, he kept prodding at her knee, chuckling at every single one of her suppressed whimpers. He kept pushing at the swollen joint, and with horror, Astrid realized that something was moving inside. Whatever had happened to her knee, once she was free the recovery would take _weeks._ But first, she had to get away, and for that, she had to buy time. 

And to her surprise, it seemed as if Ryker was willingly giving her that time. After maybe half an hour of him tormenting her leg, he suddenly left without a word. 

The prospect of spending yet _another_ day like this, helpless and suffering as the hours dragged by, wasn’t exactly appealing. But still, if that was all they got then waiting for her friends to get her out of this situation would be easy. 

She should have known better though. It only took a few minutes until Ryker returned, a look of smooth satisfaction on his face. 

“I want you to know that I’m going to enjoy this very much,” he announced as he placed some sort of leather bag on the ground. Its content clang, metal on metal. 

“You’re sick,” Astrid pressed through gritted teeth. 

He put on something like a thinking face, his head tipping from one side to the other. “Yeah, probably. But there’s really nothing that beats breaking a brat like you. You think you’re a fighter, right? Battle-hardened and able to endure pain? Let’s see how much you can really take.” 

Without a warning, he brought his fist to her stomach. 

Pain exploded in Astrid’s body and the only reason she didn’t scream was that his punch had forced all air from her lungs. Her eyes were wide, the burning in her wrists, shoulders, knee forgotten. Tears formed and ran down her cheeks as she heaved, trying to breathe through the pain. 

“I know what you’re trying.”

Ryker still stood close, his fist still at her stomach and his mouth at her ear. He spoke calmly, almost tender even, but his words didn’t match up. 

“He’s still around somewhere, watching us. And you want to keep him safe by playing strong. It’s admirable but pathetic. No matter how strong you think you are, I’ll prove you wrong. But please… don’t make it too easy for me.”

In the next moment, he rammed his knee against her thigh. The bone didn’t break - or at least she didn't think it did - but the pain was still blinding and drew another suppressed groan from her. 

What followed was an eternity of pain. Ryker dealt one blow after the other, covering all of Astrid’s body with his hits with his fist or kicks, and gave her close to no time at all to recover in-between. The moment her mind registered where he’d hit her, the next blow was already coming. 

And yet through it all, she managed to stay silent. She whimpered, gasped, groaned, and keened. But she didn’t scream. Her teeth dug so hard into her lower lip that they were drawing blood. It ran down her chin and neck. But it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she didn’t let on how much he was hurting her. She could make it through this!

_Please, Hiccup,_ she thought desperately. _Please, stay where you are. Don’t interfere. Wait for the others. Don’t let them capture you, too._

She was drowning in a sea of pain, her body bruised and bleeding when the blows eventually stopped. When she looked up through heavy eyes, Ryker was still there, breathing hard and grinning.

“I have to admit, you can take more than I expected. But that will just make my victory all the sweeter."

"You won't win." Her voice was weak, her mind dazed, but she wouldn't give up.

Ryker flexed his hand. "Maybe not like this. But I'm far from done here." 

He crouched down by the bag he'd placed next to her earlier and pulled the strings open. Astrid glanced down to see what kind of torture devices were inside but just huffed in confusion. There were metal spikes, the length of that of a Nadder but far thinner. Some were as thick as Ryker's finger, others merely long needles. What they all had in common though were the sharp tips and a glossy sheen that covered them all. 

Somehow, she didn't like that sight.

"I admire your determination, girl," he said casually. "You'd suffer through anything to protect him, wouldn't you?"

"Damn right," Astrid hissed. She tasted blood on her tongue and spit it out, right at Ryker's feet. 

He chuckled darkly. "Would you also sacrifice your future for him?"

"I'd _die_ to protect him!" The words came with conviction. This wasn't the first time she faced this question, after all.

But Ryker just kept chuckling. "But that's not what I meant. I was talking about your future, girl. You're a warrior, I can see that much. But what if I take that away from you?" 

He took one of the spikes out of the bag, one of the thinnest ones, holding it delicately with the tips of his fingers. 

"What if I make sure you will never fight again? What if you become a burden instead? Is he worth that, too?"

Astrid gritted her teeth but didn't reply. Words, that was all Ryker had. She would never stop fighting, _never!_

"I see." Ryker smirked - then drove the needle into her right calf. 

The pain hit her with the fraction of a second's delay. Then her eyes snapped open before rolling back into her head, her mouth open wide in a silent scream.

_Fuck!_

"The acid of a Changewing," Ryker commented almost casually. "Diluted, of course. Uncomfortable to touch, but if it gets in contact with an open wound…" He shuddered. "The burning pain can drive a man insane and the risk for infections..."

He took a second spike from the bag, a little wider this time. This time, he aimed so that the metal would go from her knee through her entire calf down to the foot, distributing the pain as widely as possible. 

The girl shook violently with the pain. “Get them out!” she sobbed.

Ryker hummed in satisfaction. But she still wasn't screaming, still fought for her weakling of a leader. Well, he wasn't done yet. 

He crouched down and reached for another spike. This time, he took one of the thickest, aiming to cause as much damage as possible.

"It was actually you who gave me this idea. With your knee injured you can't even walk, much less fight. So, if I destroy it permanently…" He looked up into her fearful eyes, grinning menacingly. Finally, she understood. "Last chance, girl. Scream! Scream for him to come and save you. We both know that he's watching, that he'll be here in a matter of seconds if you call for him. Do it or I'll destroy your knee. Your choice."

Astrid shook with pain and fear. She understood her situation all too well. If he rammed that spike into her knee… then she would never walk again. 

She lifted her head to look up into the sky. Somewhere up there, Hiccup was watching them. _Please, stay where you are_ , she thought, hoping to somehow reach him. Ryker had a sick pleasure in torturing people, her specifically as it seemed. This would happen, no matter whether they captured Hiccup as well. Viggo would probably even make him watch. 

Ryker shook his head with slight amusement. “As you wish.” 

He grabbed her leg to hold it steady, took a second to aim, and drove the spike right through her already injured knee. 

Her scream was beautiful. Loud and shrill and true, it echoed of the sea stacks to mix with her following screams when he pierced her knee with a second and a third spike. Her pain was real, beautiful, tangible in how her voice broke. Ryker basked in her pain, in having proven his dominance over her - and grinned even wider when her scream was echoed by another one, coming from somewhere far above them.

____________________________

Up on his sea stack, Hiccup was banging his head against the rocky ground, covering his ears with his hands. 

She’d asked, no, _begged_ him to flee. She’d stayed to ensure he got away. She’d bought him time, time to treat his wound, and time for their friends to arrive. And he’d promised to himself that he wouldn’t dishonor her decision. 

But by the Gods, it was impossible. Watching her getting beaten by Ryker had been bad. _Really_ bad! From the distance, he hadn’t been able to see what exactly he’d done to her but it hadn’t been pretty. Only the knowledge that it was another trap and the Hunters only waiting for him and Toothless had kept him from flying down, that it would be a pointless endeavor anyway. And the fact that he was hardly able to move, of course. 

With Toothless’ help, he’d broken off the arrow’s shaft in his shoulder, but the tip was still in there. He couldn’t say what kind of poison had been on it, most likely Speed Stinger or Flightmare, only that it took time to wear off. He still couldn’t clench his left hand. 

All he could do was wait for his Terror mail to reach their friends, for them to come here to help. And until then… 

Astrid’s screaming grew even more desperate, more like the howl of a wounded dragon than a human, and Hiccup couldn’t help but scream as well. Letting her know that she wasn’t alone… it was all he could do for her.

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Astrid...  
> Poor Hiccup...  
> 😬


End file.
